PRESS RELEASE
People Show 117: The Birthday Show
Performance. Celebration. Imagination…
Wednesday 12 – Saturday 15 July 2006 8.00pm
People Show Studios, Pollard Row, London E2 6NB
‘People Show is a national treasure’ The Independent
It’s People Show’s fortieth birthday and you’re invited to the party. A special kind of party.
Yes, there is cake, and yes, there are presents. But to get them, there’s a journey you must make with us – where the past turns to present, games turn to tricks and stories turn to wine.
Enter into painted scenes of outstanding beauty, get lost in the haze, take a left and there’s the band. Take a right and there, somewhere in the darkness, catch a glimpse of a fragile human mirror ball dance.
Keys turn. Doors open. Lights flicker. You falter, as your memories are dismantled, the past unravels and secrets are revealed.
Travel further.
There’s laughter coming from the backroom. Go and find who’s making all the noise….
“I am such an obsessive fan… One dance sequence, inspired by some tramp dancing in a pub has had a formative influence on the way I have moved ever since.”
Bill Nighy, Actor, speaking to The Evening Standard
People Show is unique as an experimental theatre company. Since its creation in 1966 when the group first performed in a Charing Cross bookshop basement, through to today from its Bethnal Green studios, People Show continues to challenge everything you thought you knew about theatre. Its home in the East End of London acts as a creative hub for both People Show and other theatre companies. This July, prior to a spring tour in 2007, People Show offers up the ultimate in performance and celebration, marking its fortieth birthday with People Show 117, using its base location to the maximum and with a nod to a rich past, present and future. A site specific event incorporating the classic People Show hallmarks of live music, multimedia imagery, unrivalled theatrical inventiveness and of course, cake!
People Show are also throwing a special post-show birthday celebration on Wednesday 12 July. You’re cordially invited to join… what will you bring to the party?
In addition to the above, Friday 14 July will serve as the icing on the cake when – for one night only – the hugely successful People Show Band perform post-show. Music-lovers will relish the chance to see People Show Band, whose eponymous 1968 album was produced by Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, stage a celebratory gig starting at 9.30pm. People Show Band members from the original line-up include the legendary George Khan and director Mike Figgis alongside Terry Day, Mel Davis, Paul Jolly, Terry Holman, Tony Edwards, Russell Harty, Charlie Hart, Davy Payne. Ticket holders from People Show 117: The Birthday Show are welcome to stay for this event. (Gig only tickets also available.)
“Theatre is the unifying art form. It is the magpie of all the arts and so it is meant to be. The visual arts, music, song, dance, circus, prose and poetry are all contributors, that is its magic. None of these forms should be denied.”
Mark Long, co-founder of People Show
People Show is funded by Arts Council England
LISTINGS
People Show 117: The Birthday Show
Wednesday 12, Thursday 13, Friday 14 & Saturday 15 July 2006 at 8.00pm
Press Night: Wednesday 12 July 8.00pm
(followed by post-show birthday party for all first night ticket holders)
People Show Studios
Pollard Row
London E2 6NB
Box Office: 020 7729 1841 (People Show Studios, cheques only)
Credit card booking:
By phone with ticketweb (24hour) 08700 600100 (booking fee applies)
Online booking www.ticketweb.co.uk (booking fee applies)
Tickets: ?12 + ?10 concessions (NUS, OAP, UB40 – ID required) + booking fee via ticketweb
Please note capacity is extremely limited, advance booking recommended to avoid disappointment.
Running time: Approx 1 hour and 15 minutes
Doors open: 7.30pm
People Show Band
Friday 14 July 9.30pm only (post-show gig)
Ticket holders from People Show 117: The Birthday Show can stay for this event on show tickets.
Tickets for gig only: ?7 and ?5 concessions (booking only via People Show Studios as above)
How to get to People Show Studios:
Nearest tube: Bethnal Green (Central Line. 14 minutes from Oxford Circus). Less than 10 minutes from the tube. Pollard Row just off Bethnal Green Road.
